Things Change
by rosie4299
Summary: A Chilton ten year reunion turns into a look at how while some things might change, others will always remain the same...
1. Some Things Change, Others Stay the Same

**Author's Late Night Ramblings- **Sorry it took me so long to write something, I wanted to post it a few days ago, but I was still working out the kinks, and I wanted to give you all, my faithful readers (and hopefully reviewers!) the best story that I possibly could.

As of right now, this is a one shot fic, but who knows? It may very well turn into a multi part story, provided I got enough of a following and the right inspiration came along! So let me know what you think on that front, I make no promises, but it's something to think about for the future!

This isn't exactly smut, but it is quite steamy, if I do say so myself! I worked really hard to make this worthy. I would like to thank the Super Duper Sara (Shouhei) for encouraging me, and helping me through the middle of this fic. She is truly an awesome beta, and I am so lucky that she's mine! (Go read her stuff, It's awesome! She is really talented, and you'll see why she was such a big help to me if you read 'But I Love Him'!)

I've totally been working on the next chapter of 'The Last', and it is coming along, slowly but surely. I'm hoping it will be ready to go soon, but no promises! It's gonna be really long, so hopefully that will make up for the tardiness!

Okay, so enough of my insane chatter, on with the story!

* * *

Improv for September 4- September 17 

**_Sudden, casual, honor, olive, observe, learn_**

**Things Change**

The large room was loud, the sounds of laughter and tinkling glassware overpowering him. He, Tristan Dugrey, was back at Chilton Prep, after nearly twelve years.

Until the invitation arrived months ago, he hadn't even realized how much time had really passed from the time he had walked out of those halls, never to return again.

Only now, he was back, and feeling more than a little out of place.

"Tristan Dugrey, what are you doing here?" A sudden blast from the past jolted him from his reverie.

"Paris Gellar, how have you been?" He asked, smiling politely at his old friend.

"Cut the crap Dugrey." Paris snapped. She had been placed in charge of this reunion, and had overseen every detail, right down to the table settings and the last invitee. "I asked what you were doing here, and I expect an answer."

"I believe I was invited."

"Who would invite you?"

"You wound me, Gellar." Tristan smirked, clutching his heart.

"Are you going to volunteer the name of the person stupid enough to send you an invitation, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Paris yelled. "Because I'm not going to let anyone ruin this reunion, not even you."

"Calm down Paris." Louise drawled, walking up to the pair with Madeline. "We took the liberty of inviting him."

"After all, what kind of reunion would this be without our king?" Madeline asked brightly, smiling at them both.

"Why thank you ladies." Tristan smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

"And besides, he's still the best looking guy to ever have prowled these halls." Louise commented, looking Tristan over from head to toe.

"Get a room, why don't you?" Paris growled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sorry, but I think my wife might have a problem with that."

"Wow! You mean some lucky girl already snapped you up?" Madeline asked, her eyes widening in shock at the notion.

"Yep, about five years ago."

"I can't believe that Tristan Dugrey has been tied down for that long." Louise said in disbelief.

"Wait, have you been married to the same woman, or have you been trading them in for a newer model every year?" Paris asked skeptically, not ready to believe that the young playboy that she knew in her youth could have changed that much.

"That was harsh, even for you Paris." Tristan narrowed his eyes, feeling the anger and annoyance creeping up inside his chest.

"Yeah." Madeline and Louise nodded in unison.

"Hey, he used to do that with cars and girlfriends, I was simply wondering if he applied that same mentality to his spouses as well." Paris defended herself.

"Nope. I'm a one woman man now. And for your information Paris, yes, it's the same woman."

"Just checking." Paris shrugged. "You never know."

Tristan nodded, knowing that she had every right to think so little of him. Paris hadn't seen him since he left for military school, and back in the days he attended Chilton, he had been an arrogant, egotistical jerk. How could she possibly have known how much he had changed over the years?

"So, where did you meet a woman who would actually put up with your crap, Dugrey?" Paris asked, a little nicer.

"Well, you know what they say about April in Paris." Tristan smiled at the memory. "The city, not the person."

"Funny, Dugrey."

"I try."

"So you met on vacation?" Madeline asked. "How romantic!"

"Actually, I've been living in London for a few years now, running the European division of Dugrey Enterprises. "We met while I was closing a deal with a French company in Paris." Tristan explained, his smile growing wider. "And we've been together ever since."

"How romantic." Madeline sighed, putting a hand to her heart.

"I'm going to get a drink." Tristan announced. "Can I get you ladies anything?"

Madeline and Paris shook their heads in response, while Louise moved closer to him, and said in a suggestive voice, "dirty martini, very, very dry, one olive."

He nodded, and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the three women to talk amongst themselves.

"Hey! Watch it!" Paris yelled, whipping around to yell at the person who had bumped into her. "Why don't you-," She gasped, and threw her arms around the person responsible for jostling her. "Rory!"

"Paris!" Rory was startled, but after a few seconds, composed herself to give her old friend a hug. "I was hoping that I'd see you here."

"It's been forever." Paris said, finally releasing Rory from her tight embrace. They hadn't spoken in years, after graduating from Yale, they had both gone in separate directions, and their friendship had faded as the years passed.

"Yeah, we haven't talked since I started that graduate program at Oxford."

"And I started medical school at Stanford."

"How'd it go?"

"Well, I hear 'paging Dr. Gellar' everywhere I go, so I'd say pretty well." Paris said proudly. "They just bumped me up to resident a year ago, and in another ten years, I plan on running the whole cardiac wing. It's all a part of the life plan."

"Louise! Madeline!" Rory exclaimed, noticing the other girls. "How have you been?"

"Fabulous." Madeline grinned, holding out her hand, showing off the enormous diamond weighing down her ring finger.

"Wow! You need a wheelbarrow to lug that thing around!" Rory commented, examining it up close.

"The guy who comes attached to it isn't so bad either." Madeline said brightly. "He's tall, dark and handsome, not to mention loaded."

"Well, unless that ring came out of a Cracker Jack box, I would think so." Rory said, smiling at her friend.

"Yeah, hers is nice, but it's nothing compared to mine." Louise pushed her best friend out of the way, holding her own hand out for inspection.

"Gorgeous." Rory said, releasing her hand. "What's he like?"

"Exactly like Madeline's." Louise said. "They're twins."

"Wow." Rory's eyes got a bit bigger. "You miss so much while out of the country."

"So what exactly have you been up to, Rory?" Madeline asked. "We haven't seen each other in ages."

"Well, after a year at Oxford, I became the European correspondent for the New York Times, so I've been living over there for seven years." Rory started. "I decided to move back home a few months ago, since I've been working practically nonstop for about six years, and I wanted to spend more time with my family. Right now, I'm living down the street from my mom and stepdad, and my two little brothers, Jake and Tommy."

"What about a guy? There has to be a guy." Louise looked shocked when Rory held up her left hand, which was absent of any jewels or baubles. "Wow. I thought that by now you'd at least be engaged to some wildly passionate, classically handsome, starving European artist named Giovanni or Paulo or something."

"We'll have to fix her up." Madeline suggested. "I'm sure that Dennis and Harper have at least one unattached friend left. Yay! We can make it a triple date!"

Rory just smiled, not saying a word. Getting set up with some random friend of the fiancé of friends she had lost touch with years ago was not exactly what she had in mind when she decided to go to this reunion.

"Yeah, I mean, even Tristan found someone." Louise commented, her voice low. "I still can't believe that he, of all people is tied down. I mean, he seems more like the eternal bachelor than the family man."

"Love makes you do crazy things." Rory smiled. "Even elope with someone you barely know in Paris."

"You mean you already knew?" Madeline asked. "How is that possible?"

"I interviewed him a few years ago for an article on American businesses taking a more vested interest in European holdings." Rory explained. "It was one of my first pieces for The New York Times."

"So, you know his wife?" Paris asked, getting a little more interested in the converstation. After all, what kind of person would marry Tristan Dugrey?

"I suppose."

"What's she like?" Madeline asked, desperate for new gossip. "Is she pretty? Smart? Interesting?"

"Well, she's... interesting." Rory hesitated, not wanting to really broach the topic.

"I knew it." Paris announced. "She's evil, just like him. And then, they're going to procreate, and their kids will be evil, and-," She stopped abruptly, seeing Tristan weaving his way back to them through the sea of former classmates.

"Well, well, well." Tristan smirked, handing Louise her drink, then fully turning his attention to Rory. "Hello Mary."

It took all that Rory had to stay calm. Just being around him made her blood boil. "Tristan."

"So Tristan, you never mentioned that you and Rory knew each other." Louise accused, looking back and forth between the two, still detecting the sexual tension simmering just below the surface, obvious enough for even an idiot to observe.

He looked up, and remained casual, taking a slow sip of his scotch on the rocks. "I guess you could say that."

"I don't know if I'd say that." Rory said, trying to ignore the way her skin tingled when he brushed her arm with his own.

"Then what would you say?" Louise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I..." Rory stammered, really not wanting to have this conversation.

"Yeah, Mary, what would you say?" Tristan smirked, his blue eyes shining with amusment. When was she going to learn?

"Oh, look, there's Henry with Brad." Rory changed the subject, grateful to see the two men standing not too far away. "I think I'm going to stop and say hello. Excuse me." She quickly hurried over to them, leaving the rest of the group to stare at her retreating form.

"I think I need another drink." Tristan said, feeling the need to leave the women before more questions arose. "Please excuse me."

As he left them as well, Louise started to giggle. "Would you care to honor us with your thoughts?" Paris asked impatiently. "What is so funny?"

"It's not funny. It's absolutely hilarious!" Louise's giggles quickly turned into full blown howls of laughter. "All this time, and they're still hot for each other!"

"You're crazy." Paris objected. "He's married."

"Ooh, maybe they had some torrid affair." Madeline suggested, her eyes wide with excitement. "And Rory moved back to the United States to get away from him, but he followed her, and won't let her go."

"You're living in a fantasy land, Madeline." Paris rolled her eyes. "Rory would never do anything like that."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see how Tristan interacts with Rory and his wife in the same vicinity tomorrow at that family brunch you decided that we needed to have." Louise said. "Then, we will be able to figure out whether or not they have something going on between them."

**--&--**

Hours later, as the first night of reunion festivities started to wind down, Rory found herself wandering the dark halls of Chilton. So many memories were in these walls, some bad, some good, they started to come back to her as walking along, silently, alone.

She gasped as a hand touched her arm. Rory quickly turned, steadily meeting his intense gaze. "Are you following me?"

Tristan laughed. "Always."

"Well, cut it out. It's creepy."

"You know you love it."

Silence.

He moved closer to her, waiting for her to step back again, but she never does.

"What do you want, Tristan?"

"What I've always wanted." He informs her, trailing a finger down her arm, smirking as she shivered in response. "You."

"Do you know where we are right now?" He asked her, smirking when she shook her head. "This is where we first spoke to each other."

"More like, 'this is the first place I ever hit on you', don't you think?" She said sarcastically.

"Way to kill the moment, Gilmore."

"Tristan-," Her words were quickly cut off as he pressed his lips against hers in a hard kiss, full of passion and urgency. He wasn't one to give up on something that he wanted. And he wanted Rory Gilmore.

Right here.

Right now.

She surrendered almost immediately, getting so lost in the kiss that she doesn't even realize that he has slowly backed her up into the lockers until she feels the cool steel against her skin.

His hands push the dark fabric of her dress up her leg, his fingers kneading the skin of her thigh, inching his way up, closer and closer as she grew hotter and hotter at his actions. Just as he was about to reach his intended destination...

He stopped.

He smirked against the skin of her collarbone as Rory let out a low moan of disappointment. She wanted him, just as much as he wanted her.

_Maybe even more._

Her moan soon turned from disappointed to desirous as his fingers toyed with the thin straps on her shoulders before pushing the silky cloth down, his mouth dancing lightly on the skin of her flushed chest. She threaded her hands into his unruly hair, holding him to her.

His mouth trailed from her breast to her neck, biting her collarbone, soothing it with his tongue before he continued on his way, finally reaching the spot behind her ear, the one that made her knees go weak with want.

Rory struggled to hold on to the small grasp she had on her sanity as he slowly drove her crazy. His hands came back into the picture, wrapping one of her legs around his waist, torturing her as he continued his ministrations on her thigh, moving upwards at an impossibly slow pace.

She fought against the heady haze that was quickly fogging her brain. Loosening his tie, her own fingers fumbled with the buttons of his dress shirt, pulling the tails out of his pants. Rory ran her fingers across his chest, tracing his abdominal muscles, which jumped instantly at her touch.

He groaned at her actions, and retaliated by brushing his hand against her core, his fingers hooking underneath the sides of her panties, making quick work of removing them. Again, his fingers teased her, tested her.

Rory, wanting to exact the same torture he was inflicting on her, slid his leather belt from its loops before turning her attention to his pants. Shoving them down to his ankles, she brushed her small hands against his hard arousal, pleased with the reaction she received.

Tristan couldn't concentrate as his senses went wild. Her touch always did that to him. No matter how many times they were together, to him, it always felt like the first time. He lifted her other leg, settling it on his waist, entering her.

Her hips bucked against him as he buried himself deep within her. His lips found hers, meeting in a searing kiss, swallowing the sounds she was making at the sensations he was stirring within her. He always made her feel this way. She had no doubt that he always would. She would never get enough of him.

She was so close, so close to going over the edge, and with every thrust of his hips, he was sending her closer and closer. Just when she thought that her body wouldn't be able to take it anymore, she tumbled head first into the pool of ecstasy that was waiting for her, Tristan soon following as her body clamped around him, holding him tight.

Recovering a few minutes later, she felt him brush a sweaty lock of hair off her face, kissing her tenderly. Tristan held her to him, their breathing slowed back down to a normal rate, the fog of lust she had been lost in wearing off, and Rory felt him laughing silently against her chest.

She looked at him, her gaze questioning. Tristan kissed her again. "Do you have any idea how long I have wanted to do that?" He asked, his ever present smirk playing once again on his lips. She shook her head. "Since the moment I first saw you."

Rory smiled at him, breaking away from his embrace long enough to right herself, giving him time to do the same. "So, do you think anyone figured it out?" She asked, picking his discarded tie off the floor.

"Well, I did overhear Paris, Madeline and Louise discussing whether or not we were having an affair, so I'd say no." Tristan said, digging his hand into his pocket, fishing around. "Here." He said, pulling out two rings and placing them back in their rightful place on her finger.

"Aw, I didn't realize how much I missed these until I saw the ones that Madeline and Louise were bragging about." Rory smiled, admiring the way that the large diamond sparkled in the dim light of the hallway. "I have to say, you were right. That was fun, messing with everyone's heads in there."

"I told you it would be."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I believed you." Rory said. "I do feel a little bad about fooling with Paris. I only hope that she doesn't hurt me."

"I'll protect you."

"Aw, so sweet."

"Come on, we'd better get home before the twin terrors drive your mom insane." Tristan said, pulling her close to him as they began their trek out of the school. "I only hope that they didn't kill her already. She is the only one we can get to baby sit them now, after what they did to Babette."

"Yeah, your son is pretty evil." Rory commented. "After all, TJ is the spawn of the spawn of Satan."

"Hey!" Tristan laughed. "Lori isn't much better, especially since you keep giving her coffee."

"How do you know about that?" She asked him. "Did she rat me out?"

"Rory, she's four. Of course she squealed."

"I can't believe that they're starting school next year." Rory said, a little bit of sadness creeping into her voice. "My babies are growing up."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we have more buns in the oven then." Tristan smiled, running his hand over the graceful curve of her stomach, hidden in the folds of her dress.

"Yeah, I suppose I can fill the void with this one." Rory smiled, leaning into him. "But whatever will I do when this kid wants to leave me too?"

"If we keep having episodes like the one in the hallway, I don't think that will be a problem." Tristan smirked, the satisfaction of finally fulfilling his long running fantasy still running through him.

"Probably not." She smiled, the afterglow still lighting up her flushed face. "Tomorrow should be interesting."

"Yeah. Who would have thought that you would have ended up with me?" Tristan laughed. "I always wanted you, that's no secret, but I never actually thought that I'd get you."

"See what happens when you stop being a jerk? I guess you must have racked up some major karma points to get a catch like me." Rory joked, sliding into the passenger seat as he held the car door open for her.

"Funny."

"I thought so." Rory laughed, lacing her fingers with his as he started the engine. "I am quite hilarious."

"Careful, or I might just have to tell Lorelai all about what just happened back there." Tristan warned. "And I'll be very explicit, and tell her every detail."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Is there anything that I can do to convince you otherwise?" Rory asked, running her fingers lightly over his thigh. "Anything at all?"

"I might be able to be swayed." Tristan smiled, feeling his body responding immediately to her touch.

"Good." Rory smirked, removing her hand, placing it in her lap.

"Evil."

"I wonder where I got that from."

"I know, I take such pride knowing that I brought you over to the dark side." Tristan grinned, kissing the palm of her hand.

"Yes, you did." Rory sighed. "So I guess you have no one to blame for my evil nature but yourself."

"Yeah." Tristan said, pressing kisses from the back of her hand up her forearm. She yawned. "I'm sorry, am I boring you?"

"No." Rory yawned again. "But you did tire me out. I'm exhausted."

"Take a nap."

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah." He assured her. "After all, you're going to need your strength. I'm not done with you."

"You really are evil."

"And you love me anyway." Tristan smiled, watching as his wife closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep as he began the drive back to Stars Hollow.

* * *

Did I scare anyone? Never fear, the Trory ship is always safe in all of my stories. I firmly believe that there will never be anyone for Rory but Tristan, and vice versa, so I don't tend to stray much from that. Actually, if you look at my track record, I don't stray from it at all! 

Oh, and a few people were a bit upset that in 'I Was Called Mary Once' that Rory and Tristan didn't name Lily Lorelai IV, so if you noticed, the kids names were totally for you! Hope you're satisfied! (LOL!)

I kinda miss Lorelai. This was my first fic without her, but there was no real way of including her.

Yes, I know that the title kinda sucks, but I couldn't think of anything else. If you have a suggestion, please, drop me a line, I'm open to anything you've got!

Please review, and let me know what you think! I'm quite nervous about everyone's reactions to this, I've never done a scene like this before, even 'Going for the Gold' is quite tame, really. So let me know how I did on my first attempt at a slightly smutty scene. (It's not real smut yet, don't worry, I'm getting there!)


	2. The Coffee Nazi

**Author's Post Supper Ramblings-** Hello to my readers! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, I'm so glad that you all enjoyed my first foray into the world of smut! Well, not exactly, but I'm working on it! Maybe later in the story, if you are all good and religious reviewers... kidding, just kidding. I'm not sure how long that this story is going to be, and if I decide to go in the direction that I think I'm going in, there will be no real beginning, or end for that matter. Just a tease!

I want to thank the awesomest beta ever, my Sara, (Shouhei). She is so great, no matter what I give her, she always manages to make it better than I could possibly imagine. Her encouragement and ego stroking are what makes me keep writing sometimes, especially when I don't really want to.

Disclaimer- Let's see, do I own Luke? Nope. Lorelai? Nope. Rory? Nope. Tristan? I wish. All these things are the property of ASP, the fabulous creator of Gilmore Girls, and I don't think she wants to share, because she has yet to return any of my calls.

Enough yakking, more reading!

* * *

Chapter Two- The Coffee Nazi

"_Rory." Tristan breathed, her lips brushing against the skin of his neck, slowly burning a path down his chest and over his sculpted abs before venturing even lower. "Rory, Rory..."_

"Rory!"

Rory's eyes fluttered open, and were met with a pair of very smug looking blue eyes. "Good morning, Sleepyhead. Sweet dreams?"

"Hardly." She answered, rolling her eyes, snuggling into his chest.

"Naughty dreams then?"

Rory didn't answer, opting instead to slide herself up and kiss him deeply, running her hands through his sleep tousled blonde hair.

"Those dreams must have been downright dirty." Tristan smirked when she pulled away. "I've got to say, I love it when you're all hopped up on hormones."

"Oh really?"

"Really. It works to my advantage." Tristan nipped at her earlobe. "Plus, this whole 'you being pregnant with my kid' thing brings out all sorts of primitive, caveman urges." He ran his hand over her flannel covered stomach.

"Oh really?"

"Really." Tristan silenced her with a forceful kiss that seemed to make her melt into the Egyptian cotton sheets. His hands ran down her sides, stroking and caressing her curves with his nimble fingers. Just before they could lose themselves completely in each other, a familiar crescendo of voices could be head from down the hall.

"Your children are awake." Rory murmured against his skin, reluctantly pulling away as their bedroom door flew open and two brown haired, blue eyed blurs raced into the room and climbed on the bed.

"Why is it that at seven o'clock in the morning they are my children?" Tristan asked, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem all that fair."

"It seems fair to me." Rory grinned as Lori jumped on Tristan.

"Trust me, it's not." He groaned, flipping from his stomach to his back. "I don't see them using you as a trampoline at the crack of dawn."

"Well, you're much more bouncy and flexible than I am." Rory stated simply as TJ hopped over and plopped right next to her, showering her face with kisses.

"You're just as flexible as I am, Darling." Tristan winked at her. "Believe me."

"Just what are you trying to say, Mr. Dugrey?"

"I think that you know exactly what I'm trying to say, Mrs. Dugrey." Tristan smirked, turning his attention to his daughter, who was still sitting on his stomach.

"Daddy, you're silly!" Lori smiled, her giggles turning to shrieks of laughter as Tristan began tickling her. She squirmed, trying to escape, but he was relentless.

"I'm silly, huh?" He laughed, as Lori tried to tickle him back.

"Yes!"

TJ, never one to miss out on the fun, climbed on Tristan's back, covering his eyes with his tiny hands, giving Lori enough time to remove herself from her father's grasp.

"Hey! No Fair!" Tristan cried out as they teamed up to torture him. "You're supposed to gang up on Mommy, not me!"

"Face it, Tris, they love me more." Rory laughed at the sight before her.

"Or it could be all that coffee you've been sneaking them over the years." Tristan answered, prying TJ from his back.

"Eh, potato, _potato_." Rory grinned, slipping out of bed. "While you deal with the twin terrors, I'm going to go take a shower."

"That's evil."

"I know." Rory smirked before disappearing behind the door to the master bath.

-

Rory stepped out of the steamy shower, grabbed a fluffy towel, and dried off before slipping into a tee shirt and a pair of jeans. She had needed that, the last few days had been crazy, with the reunion, and registering Lori and TJ for school, especially with the article that she had due for The New York Times. It was nice to have a little 'me' time, as Lorelai would say.

When they found out that they were going to have another baby, Rory and Tristan had decided to move back to the United States. Tristan's grandfather, Janlan, wanted to take him under his wing, show him everything that he would need to know about being the future CEO of Dugrey Enterprises.

Rory had wanted a change too. She had been working nonstop for the last six years, and it had taken its toll. She needed some time to relax, and be with her children, so Rory had given up her job as a European Correspondent, opting to take small, periodic pieces instead.

Her life was perfect now. She and Tristan had agreed to live in Stars Hollow, provided that Lori and TJ went to Manning Primary Academy, or 'a prep school for prep school', as Lorelai put it, because it was the school that fed directly into Chilton.

All in all, everything was coming together quite nicely. She lived just down the street from Luke and Lorelai, and she and her mother had fallen right back into their old routines of movie nights, bad eating habits, and of course, Rory's favorite, scamming coffee from Luke, the resident coffee Nazi.

Ever since she and Tristan had announced that they were expecting, it had become hard to sneak her favorite beverage. It had been much easier when they had lived in Europe, as they both were constantly on the go for work, and she could just go down the street to a café, or have a cup at the office, and he wouldn't have any idea.

But here in Stars Hollow, it was much different. Everyone knew her, and felt protective of her, as they had raised her along with her mother. And while she was touched by their concern, withdrawal was not fun.

Luke was by far the worst. He had personally dismantled Eddie, her coffee maker, and threatened Lorelai with the same if she made her any. Horrified, Lorelai had sworn on the pot of Gus that she wouldn't make Rory a single cup.

That left so many other possibilities to be explored.

Hearing her cell phone start to beep, she hurried out of the bathroom to retrieve it. Quickly opening her evening bag from the night before, she came up empty handed. And the ringing had stopped. But now she was faced with an interesting dilemma. Where was her phone?

Rory looked on the dresser, searched the pile of clothing that she and Tristan had shed the night before, and even looked under the covers. With the way they had gotten last night, anything was possible, Rory thought to herself, blushing at the memory.

Then, as if by some sort of miracle, her phone started beeping again. Following the sound, she found the small device on the side table, in the charger, where it belonged, but was seldom put before it lost all power. Tristan must have taken it upon himself to see that her phone didn't die. So sweet.

"Hello?" Rory greeted the person on the other end, as the id came up as unknown.

"Go to the mailbox." A low, muffled voice from the other end informed her.

"Who is this?" She asked, curious, but nonetheless began to go down the stairs.

"Who do you think?" The voice was still low, and muffled, but sounded familiar.

"Mom?" Rory asked, as she reached the front door.

"Yes it's mom!"

"Where are you calling from?" Rory asked, as she quickly closed the door behind her.

"A pay phone on Spring Street."

"And why are you calling from a pay phone?" Rory questioned, walking down the driveway. "And why did you call my cell phone, why not the house line?"

"There are spies everywhere." Her mother whispered conspiratorially. "A cell phone can be easily traced."

"Whatever you say, Mom." Rory rolled her eyes. Finally, she reached the mailbox. She squealed with delight as she plucked the Styrofoam cup from inside. "Mom, you are the best!"

"Of course I am." Lorelai stated. "I have to go before the enemy realizes I'm gone."

"Mom, Luke isn't the enemy."

"Anyone who tries to deprive a Gilmore Girl of the elixir of life is an enemy, Rory. Even that gorgeous husband of yours."

"I don't really blame him for not wanting his child to have three eyes or gills or something." Rory took a sip, sighing as the hot liquid scalded her throat. "But at the same time, I need coffee."

"That's my girl."

"I am who you raised me to be."

"Crap!" Lorelai muttered. "I may have been spotted!"

"Mom, stop acting like this is a war."

"But it is, Rory. We coffee addicts have to stick together! We," Her next statement was cut off, as a hand hit the cradle, disconnecting her. "Hey! What's the big id," She trailed off when she looked up into the stern gaze of her husband. "Hey, Luke, what's up?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe catching you trying to sneak coffee to Rory?" Luke crossed his arms. "I thought that I told you that was a no-no."

"Actually, you said that making her coffee was a no-no, but, wait, did you just say 'no no'?" Lorelai started to giggle, but her laughter died when she say the look on his face. "And for your information, I wasn't 'trying' to sneak Rory coffee. I was calling to see what was up." She said, hoping to come off as casual, but failing miserably.

Luke rolled his eyes. A few moments after she left the diner, he had found her cell phone abandoned on the counter, and like the good husband that he was, decided to run it over to the inn, where she had told him she was heading.

But when he reached the inn, Sookie had informed him that Lorelai had yet to make an appearance that day. That was when Luke had gotten the funny feeling that he had been tricked. Lorelai had left the diner with four cups of coffee. One for the walk to the inn, one for going over the messages and books with Michel, and one to last until she could sneak off to the kitchen to replenish her cup.

That left one unaccounted for.

He had a sneaking suspicion about the whereabouts of that fourth cup. The nervous way she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, coupled with the fact that she hadn't looked him in the eye, opting to stare at a wad of pink gum on the sidewalk instead, told him that his suspicions were correct.

"Lorelai," Luke was cut off as Lorelai pressed her lips to his, making it hard to remember his train of thought. Soon he was lost in the kiss, his mind hazy.

"Wow." He mumbled as she pulled away.

"Ooh, is that my cell phone?" Lorelai asked, finishing the diversion she had implemented at the last minute. It had worked. Of course it had worked. When had her husband ever been able to resist her? She thought as she pulled the small device from his grasp.

"What? Oh, yeah." Luke stumbled over the words a bit, still a little dazed. "I was going to bring it to the inn, but you weren't there."

"Oh, yeah." Lorelai scrambled for a plausible explanation, one that would not involve coffee smuggling. "I realized that I forgot it, and I decided to go back to the diner to get it."

"You did?" Luke asked, confused. "But I didn't see you when I was driving over."

"I took the back way."

"The back way?"

"You know, over the river and through the woods." Lorelai tried to joke. "The only thing missing was 'grandmother's house'."

Luke looked her over, his eyes lingering on her body. "That's funny, for someone who just waded in the stream, you are astonishingly dry."

"Well, I'm quick on my feet." Lorelai said quickly. "It takes a very nimble person to walk on water, you know."

"Lorelai," Again, she cut him to the quick, making him forget everything except the way she felt at that moment.

"Gotta go. The inn awaits." She told him, her lips resounding against his cheek with a loud smack. "See you tonight!" Lorelai called over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

'God, I'm good.' She thought as she bounced down the road to the Dragonfly.

It took a full minute before Luke realized what she had done. "Damn!" He thought, picking up the phone and depositing some money into the machine.

"Hello?" Tristan answered the phone, Lori clasped to his leg, wearing a bright pink bathing suit, one of his ties, and a pair of blue galoshes. He had been attempting to pry her off when the phone rang, and he had hobbled quickly to answer it.

"Tristan, where's Rory?" Luke asked.

Tristan thought for a moment, before realizing he had no idea. "I'm not sure. She went to go and take a shower about, forty five minutes ago." He answered, looking down at his watch. "Why?"

"I think we might have a situation on our hands."

**-**

Rory sighed as she took another sip of her coffee. This was, without a doubt, the best cup of coffee that she had ever tasted, and that was saying something. Did she detect a hint of nutmeg?

"Rory!" She heard Tristan's voice call from upstairs. "Rory!" Uh oh. She had a sneaking suspicion that they had been found out. When she and her mother had been cut off moments ago, she had thought that they had run out of time, and Lorelai didn't have any more quarters. At least, she had really hoped that was the reason.

Now, that didn't seem very likely. Standing in the kitchen, Rory heard Tristan's voice get closer, and she knew she didn't have much time. Where could she hide the evidence? How could she cover up her relapse at the heavenly aroma of her favorite beverage?

Tristan finally rounded the corner into the bright, cheery kitchen, Lori still clinging to his leg. "There you are." He said once he spotted her. "What's up?" He asked, looking around for the tell tale cup.

"Nothing much." She answered, bringing a huge spoonful of coffee ice cream to her lips. "What's up with you?" She asked innocently.

"Nothing much." He parroted her response, opening the door to the freezer, but finding it empty. Tristan moved on to the oven, frowning as that too was clean. He checked the cabinets, the microwave, even the centerpiece sitting in the middle of the shiny cherry kitchen table. Nothing, nothing, and nothing.

"Whatcha doing?" Rory asked, taking another bite of the cold confection, watching him search the kitchen for her contraband. Not that he would find it; she had finally found the perfect place, one where he was never going to think to look.

"Hunting for your coffee, my dear." Tristan turned from the recycling bin to give her a look. This was frustrating. He knew Rory was sneaky when it came to her coffee, but this was getting ridiculous. And it was really hard to look, considering his daughter was still attached to his leg.

"Need some help?" Rory asked, pointing at Lori, ignoring his previous statement.

"Please." He nodded, and Rory walked over to lend a hand. It took a minute, but Rory was finally able to coax her into sharing her ice cream if she let go. It was only when Lori had stolen her spoon that she noticed what she was wearing.

"Um, Tris, I know that it's been warm lately, but really, why on earth is she wearing a bathing suit?" Rory asked as she got another spoon from a drawer and tried unsuccessfully to steal the ice cream away from the small girl. "Isn't that your favorite tie?"

"Don't remind me." Tristan grumbled, still scanning the kitchen. "It's all that 'freedom of expression' junk that your mom is feeding her. She picked it out."

"And you caved."

"You know I can't say no to her."

"I know." Rory giggled, finally able to wrestle the carton away from the four year old. "What are you going to do when she starts dating?"

"Don't even put that out there!" Tristan groaned, finally giving up. Maybe she hid it in another room, he thought. "She's not dating till she's forty."

"Good luck with that plan." Rory smiled, brushing her hand through Lori's dark curls. Everyone said that Lori looked exactly like Rory did when she was young. They shared the same big blue eyes, silky dark hair, and rosy cheeks.

She wondered what the new baby would look like. While Lori was a mini Rory, TJ definitely took after his father, with the exception of his brown hair. Maybe their third child would be more of a mixture of the two of them.

"What are you thinking about?" Tristan asked, waving a hand in front of her. "You totally zoned out on me. Here I was, going on about basement dungeons and hit men, and you are just sitting here, smiling. Does that mean I've finally brought you over to my side?"

"Nope." Rory shook her head. "You know it's just so ironic."

"What is?"

"The fact that you, Mr. Casanova himself, are going to be faced with dozens of boys trying to corrupt your daughter."

"Now you see, that's not funny." Tristan made a face as Rory's shoulders shook with giggles. "It's not!" His protests were unheard as Rory burst into full blown laughter at the sight of his distress.

"That's it, I'm going to find TJ." Tristan got up from the table. "At least I won't have to worry about him."

"Yeah, right. He's going to be just like you."

"See? Nothing to worry about." Tristan smirked, leaning to kiss her forehead. "I sure hope that number three is a boy. I don't think I could handle worrying about two little girls."

Rory didn't say anything. Even though they had decided to keep the gender of this baby as a surprise, she had a feeling that it was a girl. As Lorelai would say, she was 'hooked up' to the kid, but she didn't want to say anything to anyone, as Rory hated to be wrong. Plus, the town pool would be ruined, and that wouldn't be fair.

As soon as she heard Tristan move upstairs, she quickly moved Lori off her lap, where she had been messily eating her ice cream, though most of it was on her face. Peeking around out the door to make sure the coast was clear, she quietly opened the lid on the economy sized coffee maker, and removed the now lukewarm cup o' Joe. 'Eddie' had been out of commission for nearly three months, and finally, he was useful again, just not in the same capacity he once was.

But before she could bring the still half full cup to her lips, Rory felt a tug on her light blue tee shirt. Looking down, she groaned as Lori reached her little hands upward, stealing the cup. "So much for Gilmore girls vs. the Coffee Nazi." Rory mumbled as she watched her daughter finish her coveted coffee. "Just who's side are you on, anyway?" She asked, but couldn't help but smile as Lori looked up with those innocent eyes, which had some sort of a power over all who knew her, especially the men in her life. Tristan would be impossible when she was a teenager. "Oh boy, are you going to make Daddy pay." Rory picked her up, wiping her mouth before she turned and started for the stairs. "Come on, let's get you dressed for that brunch at Hell."

* * *

Hmm... what could I possibly have to say besides... REVIEW!

Please?

Pretty please with sugar on top?


	3. Parental Resentment

**An Author's Post Wake Up Ramblings-** Hi Everyone! Bet you never actually thought that this chapter would every be written, huh? Well, guess what! I finally got that kick in the ass that I needed to update TC! Please, don't kill me, I know I suck. There is this thing called life, in which I have a full time job and a full courseload of college courses, so unless someone wants to pay my bills and do my homework, you'll just have to deal with the infrequent updates. Just remember, I hate not writing as much as all of you (hopefully!) love reading.

Special thank you's go out to my two very favorite people on Sara, (Shouhei) my super de duper beta who originally talked me into not only expanding this story from its original one shot form, but then helped me to decide on the direction that this story should go. And Amy, (abc79de) for stepping in when I was in a jam, and kindly offering her amazing betaing skills. She is not only an amazing author, but also a great friend, and I am so lucky to have both of these girls in my corner!

* * *

Chapter Three- Parental Resentment 

"There we go." Rory smiled triumphantly at Lori, who finally, after much bargaining and bribery, had agreed to wear a lilac sundress with tiny lacy socks, provided that her shoes were tappy and loud.

She really was Lorelai's grandchild.

"Any luck?" Tristan asked, sticking his head into the room. Rory nodded, and motioned to the tie that was on the bed. It had been a small victory, finally getting Lori to relinquish her father's current favorite tie. She rolled her eyes at his sigh of relief at getting the garment back.

But then, Tristan had every right to be nervous about it, as his last favorite tie had met its untimely demise in his paper shredder at the hands of TJ.

"Daddy!" Lori skipped over to her father, her shoes clicking and clacking on the hardwood floor. "I'm going to name him Mighty Mouse!" She informed him, before rushing past him, down the hall to find her twin brother.

"I know that Lori gets her incoherent babbling skills from your side, but what exactly is she naming 'Mighty Mouse?'" Tristan asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"The pony that I promised you would buy her if she wore something that didn't require a snorkel as an accessory." Rory told him, handing the precious scrap of silk to her husband, who slipped it around his neck.

"Great." Tristan groaned dramatically as Rory looped the tie around, expertly pulling the knot into place. "And who, may I ask, is going to take care of this horse?"

"It's a pony, Tris, not a horse." Rory corrected. "There is a difference, you know."

"Oh right, a horse is a horse, of course, of course." Tristan joked, not wanting to ruin the moment just yet. He was enjoying the feeling of having his beautiful wife in his arms, in the first kid-free second since early this morning.

They were supposed to leave to head over to Chilton to expose their prank in less than two hours, and he knew that she was already wound up enough about that. How could she not be? She was Rory after all. And Rory did not trick people. She didn't deceive them for entertainment. At least, not normally.

However, as she had said last night, it was fun, pulling the wool over the eyes of the old Chilton crowd. He had never actually expected her to be so convincing. But she was. Rory played every single person in that room, and in an odd sort of way, it was a turn on.

But then, everything she did turned him on, especially with the way that she had been winding him up this morning, and last night… last night! What a wow factor. The sixteen-year-old Chiltonite that lurked somewhere inside of him was still cheering for nailing the 'Mary' in the hallowed halls of the institution.

"Earth to Tristan!"

He snapped out of his reverie as Rory waved her hand in front of his face. "Where'd you just go?" She asked him, cocking her head to one side.

"Nowhere." Tristan blinked a few times, shaking himself from his thoughts. "What were you saying?"

"Oh, nothing, I just made a brilliant and witty comment about how annoying you are when you try to keep something from me." She raised an eyebrow. "And that 'horse' comment is screaming that you aren't telling me something."

"Oh, no, you've caught me!" Tristan tried to play off her suspicions, not sure if he wanted to have this particular conversation at the current moment. "I'm running away with Louise. We saw each other last night, and we realized that we couldn't be apart any longer, so we're flying to Bermuda tonight, where I plan to divorce you, take all of our money, and start a new life cruising around the Caribbean, without a care in the world."

"Tristan." Rory looked at him, knowing that he was attempting to distract her, and letting him know that it wasn't working.

"We'll share custody of the kids of course; they'll spend six months of the year with me, December to May, and then June through November with you. Fair is fair, I always say."

"When have you ever said that?" Rory asked, laughing as he pulled her into his insane rambling.

"Just now, weren't you listening?"

"And how is that fair?" Rory narrowed her eyes playfully, leaning back in his embrace to see his face contort into that irrepressible smirk of his. "You get them for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and Earth Day."

"Yes, but you get them for Thanksgiving, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July." Tristan brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. "Plus, they'll be with you for their birthday."

"Ah, but I won't have any money to buy them presents, since you and Louise are going to hoard it all for yourselves." Rory laughed slightly at the absurdity of the conversation. How had this started? _Oh, that's right. He's attempting to get out of telling me what's going on._ Well, it wasn't going to work.

"Then you'll know that they love you for you, and not for your flashy gifts."

"Nice try, Tristan." Rory gave him a pointed look. "Tell me what you're hiding."

He sighed loudly, knowing that there was no way out of his predicament. "I was downstairs, searching for your coffee."

"There is no coffee Tristan, it's all in your head."

"Sure."

"Seriously, why do you think that there is some sort of coffee conspiracy?"

"Because there is one." He answered, attempting to derail her again, but she was relentless.

"Nice try. Continue."

"I was downstairs, poking around, and the phone started to ring. So naturally, I search, and search and search, only to find it stuck in the piano bench. Why was it there, anyway?"

"Ask TJ, he did it." Rory answered, laughing as she remembered her mother's antics as Lorelai recounted the story of the missing cordless. Of course, they had many phones in the house, but Lorelai would only use that specific one, citing volume control and the perfect ear comfort level as her reasons behind it. "Mom spent two hours trying to find it last night. TJ told her that he hid it, but he wouldn't tell her where."

"That sounds like TJ, alright." Tristan grinned proudly. "He's really coming into his own."

"Yeah, by five he'll be selling our house to Chinese businessmen, or organizing the town pools for profit." Rory rolled her eyes. "Now, keep going. Stop trying to worm your way out of this, because you know it's not going to work."

"Fine. I answered the phone, and your dad was on the other end." Tristan reluctantly spit out. He winced as he watched her eyes darken, but he held her to him, despite her valiant attempts to disentangle herself. "Rory…"

"No, Tristan." She said firmly, angrily. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, so maybe, just maybe, this time it will sink into your thick skull. I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to see him. I don't want to have anything to do with him. I'm done."

"But Ror, he's your dad."

"No Tristan, he's not." Rory snapped, ducking under his arm, heading for the door. "Dads are the men who scare away the monsters that live in the closet. Dads read you stories, and tuck you into bed at night. You are a dad. Luke is a dad. Christopher is NOT a dad. He never was, and he never will be."

"He said that he's going to be in Hartford next month." Tristan said, grabbing her arm to prevent her from leaving. "He just wants to drop by and see us."

"No."

"Rory, just give him a chance." Tristan whispered softly, trying to soothe her, but she was too angry to be placated.

"Give him a chance?" Rory's eyes shot up, full of suppressed ire, with a gleam of hurt. "Give him a chance? Tristan, I gave him eighteen years of chances. And do you know what he did? He replaced me."

"He didn't replace you."

"Yes, he did. He had Georgia, and forgot all about me." Rory yelled, yanking her arm away from his grasp. "He had another daughter, and he didn't need me anymore. You know what? I don't need him."

"Rory…" Tristan trailed off as she whipped around, her blue eyes gleaming.

"Don't Tristan. You know how I feel about this. Please, just drop it." She glared at him. "I'm going to go and get ready, I'll meet you at the car." He winced at the loud slam of the door that resounded through his daughter's room, but he didn't go after her. Rory definitely needed some time to cool down.

**-**

"Aaragh!" Rory fumed, her anger sated slightly as the bedroom door slammed, shaking a framed family portrait that hung nearby on the wall.

Why would Tristan think that she would be the least bit open to talking to her father? After everything that had happened, he should know better. So should Christopher, for that matter.

Rory paced the length of the room, still seething. They had been having such a good morning too. The kids had behaved themselves for the most part, despite Lori's mutinous coffee theft, and TJ's continued interest in the humidifall.

The phone rang, and after three rings, Rory picked up the handset. "What?" She barked into the mouthpiece, in no mood to speak to anyone.

"Geez, what's up, Dugrey?" Rory's mood brightened slightly at the sound of her best friend's voice.

"Lane! How are you?" Rory asked, sitting down on the bed, getting comfortable against the fluffy down pillows that hid the bottom of the headboard from view. "How is the album coming? You've been so cryptic about it lately. I mean, I am your best friend, after all. I deserve the inside scoop."

"Wow. The album is… coming along. It's actually going a little slower than I thought that it would, but that's okay."

"Well, how are the guys?" Rory asked, trying to extract more details from her friend. Why was she being so reluctant?

"Brian is doing well, he just started taking a new allergy medication, and it turns out that he has a pretty good voice now that he's not so nasal."

"Huh."

"And Gil just moved his family out here, so he's happy that he gets to see the kids more often."

"Aw, does that mean that he sold the sandwich shop?" Rory asked, a little disappointed. "I loved those subs."

"Yeah, they sold it. But on the bright side, that kid that knows the perfect mayo-to-mustard ratio for a sandwich is still there."

"Thank God. I swear, he is a true artist." Rory sighed in relief. "Anyway, on to the juicier gossip. How are you and Zach? Still making beautiful music together?" She chuckled at her joke, but grew silent when she realized that Lane was not joining in. "Lane?"

"Actually, we're on a break."

"Like Ross and Rachel?"

"Yeah, except he didn't wait until he heard that Mark guy's voice before he slept with the girl from the copy place. Or in this case, that chippy from the club we were performing in."

"Ugh." Rory narrowed her eyes. "What was he thinking?"

"I don't know." Lane said quietly. "I don't know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you come for a visit?" Rory suggested. "We haven't gotten together in forever, and your godchildren would love to see you."

"Well, the band did decide to take a little vacation. It seems that we're not gelling like we used to." Lane said, slowly warming to the idea of returning to Stars Hollow for a bit of R R.

"See? There's nothing keeping you there. Come back home for a little while. We can hang out. It'll be just like it was when we were sixteen."

"Yeah, minus your husband and two and a half kids." Lane joked, laughing for the first time in over a month. "That actually sounds like a pretty good plan."

"Duh! It was my plan, how could it not be good?"

"So how is everything on your end, Rory?" Lane asked, trying to move the subject of their conversation away from her own life. "Lori and TJ still terrorizing the neighborhood?"

"Of course they are. They do have their father's genes, after all."

"And how is Tristan?"

"He's fine." Rory said, trying not to let the ire she was still feeling after their last conversation infect the chat she was having with Lane.

"Are you mad at him again?" Lane asked, knowing Rory too well for her to ever be able to hide anything from her.

"Kind of."

"What did he do this time?"

"Well, it's not so much something that he did. It's more something that he wants me to do." Rory tried to explain.

"Oh, God. If this is something dirty, please, stop right there." Lane groaned, making a face. "Because seriously, whatever the two of you do between the sheets is your business. I learned my lesson a long time ago, trust me."

"No, Gutterbrain, it's not something naughty." Rory rolled her eyes. "Besides, I don't think that there's anything left that he hasn't been able to talk me into." She added, grinning evilly just imagining the thoughts racing through Lane's mind at that moment.

"I told you I didn't need to know how any of those children were conceived!" Lane shouted at her, in obvious distress. "Aw, man! Now I have those pictures back in my head!"

"Serves you right." Rory laughed. "But it has nothing to do with any Technicolor snapshots you might have running through your mind right now."

"Well?"

"He got a call from Christopher today." Rory explained, pursing her lips in distaste. "Tristan wants me to let him come here next month while the sperm donor is in Hartford."

"What did you say?" Lane asked, interested as to what Rory's reaction to her father's request would be.

"I said no." Rory said, a little surprised that she would think that she would let Christopher anywhere near her family. "Did you think that I was going to let him close to Lori and TJ?"

"Well, he is your dad, Ror."

"Yeah, and you know how I feel about him, Lane." Rory snapped, getting mad at her as well. "Why doesn't anyone get it?"

"We do get it, Rory. You have every right to not want him in your life." Lane attempted to placate her best friend. "But he's still your dad. No matter what he does, no matter how stupid, he's always going to be your dad."

"After all he's done, why should I give him another chance?" Rory asked, remembering the last time she had attempted to let her father into her life and what a disaster that had turned out to be. "I have given him so many, and all he has ever done is throw them back in my face, and make me remember why I shut him out in the first place."

"But Rory…"

"No buts! Do you not remember that he didn't even bother to show up for my graduation? I was freaking valedictorian, and he didn't even RSVP. Or wait, how about my wedding reception? He said he would come, but like always, something came up, and he disappointed me again."

"Ror,"

"And then there's the piece de résistance, the twins' christening. You were there, you saw that huge scene he made! No matter what, he's always going to do something to screw up, and I don't want to be anywhere near him the next time he decides to implode!"

"I know, Rory, I know." Lane finally broke through her tirade, silencing Rory at last. "But can you really blame Tristan? It's not his fault that your dad has done all of those things."

"I'm not mad at him." Rory said, imagining the skeptical look on Lane's face. "I'm not! It's just that 'shoot the messenger' syndrome, I guess."

"Does he know that?" Lane asked.

"No."

"Are you going to tell him that?"

"Maybe."

"Rory!"

"Lane!" Rory sighed loudly. "I promise, I'll tell him that I'm not upset with him, and that it was a combination of parental resentment and baby hormones."

"Good. I need you two to be back to your sickeningly in love ways when I come back at home. I don't want to deal with a grumpy pregnant woman while I'm visiting."

"I'll still be pregnant while you're here, Lane. I've still got about five months to go before I pop." Rory giggled, rubbing the slight swell of her stomach. "And there is every possibility that I will be grumpy. I'm getting fatter all the time."

"At least it's not twins this time around."

"There is that." Rory said, a little relieved. "I would have killed myself if I ended up with four children under the age of five."

"Are you kidding? I would have tied the noose for you." Lane laughed. "Or at least sent you over to MIT to be studied."

"Thanks Lane."

"Anytime."

**-**

Tristan sighed as he heard the soft splashing from the top of the stairs. Lori was still in the playroom where he had left her and TJ only a few minutes ago. TJ, however, couldn't seem to control himself.

The humidifall had been installed only a few weeks ago, one of the few things that hadn't been done by the time that they moved into the new house. Something about a shortage in the marble, Tristan remembered.

From the moment that his eyes had landed on the water that cascaded over the Dugrey family crest, TJ had been unable to resist it. The four-year-old boy seemed to be drawn to it, as if an unseen force brought him to it.

"Hey Buddy." Tristan greeted his son after climbing the stairs.

"Hi Daddy," was TJ's nonchalant reply.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing." The little boy answered, not bothering to turn around. A large puddle already lay at his feet.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"No."

"TJ…" Finally, his son turned around, and Tristan groaned once he took in his appearance. The tiny polo shirt that Rory had picked out for him to wear to the brunch was soaked through. He couldn't have been wetter if he had jumped into the backyard pool fully clothed. Again.

"Great, just great. Your mother is going to kill me when she sees you." Tristan grumbled, leading him to his room to change. Maybe if he found a similar outfit, Rory would be too worked up about the brunch to even notice that TJ was no longer wearing the same outfit as before. It wasn't likely. Rory's attention to detail was uncanny.

"Why?" TJ asked, looking up at him, an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"Because she's mad at me right now."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because she is."

"That's a stupid reason." TJ said, jumping on his bed. "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Lori said that you were going to buy her a pony for getting dressed."

"Mmhmm." Tristan murmured absently, bending over drawers to find another shirt. Thank God for the maid that sorted the clothing into the dresser by color. Otherwise, he would never have been able to find anything. TJ had accumulated far too many outfits in his short time on this earth.

However, Tristan learned soon after starting his hunt that there was a perfectly good reason for that. Rips, tears, stains and spots, (and wait, was that a singe mark?) were found on many of his shirts. How in the world had he managed to get permanent marker on the back of his shorts?

It was probably better not to know.

"I have to get dressed twice, you know." He informed his father, who had located an appropriate shirt that seemed to be absent any proof TJ's penchant for playing with matches, and was currently attempting to force the fabric over his head.

"Uh huh." Tristan helped him free an arm, which had gotten caught in the soft cotton.

"Does that mean that I can keep my turtle?" TJ asked, smiling innocently up at his father.

"Since when do you have a turtle?" Tristan asked, looking around the room, unable to spot anything that might be able to move or breathe on its own.

"Since Wednesday." He answered, in a very matter of fact manner. "Can I?"

"Where is this turtle?"

TJ took his hand, and lead him into the bathroom down the hall. It was seldom used, because of it was far away from the main bedrooms, which all had adjoining bathrooms anyway. Sure enough, a turtle was in the bathtub, sitting among spongy-looking blobs that were stuck to the bottom of the tub.

"That's a turtle!" Tristan stared on in disbelief.

"Yep!" TJ grinned, picking up the reptile. "I named him Speedy!"

"How original." Tristan smiled slightly, focusing on the fuzzy gunk in the tub. "Um, TJ, what are those?"

"Cheerios."

"You fed him Cheerios?"

"The frosted ones."

"Aw, geez." Rory was really going to kill him.

"So, can I keep him?" TJ looked up at his father, an expectant and hopeful look in his eyes.

How was Tristan supposed to say no? "We'll see."

"Yay! I'm gonna go tell Lori!" TJ exclaimed, before putting the turtle back into the tub and taking off toward the door. "LORI!" He called, and was halfway down the hall before Tristan caught up with him.

"Shh!" Tristan shushed him, lifting the small boy effortlessly off his feet. "This has to stay our little secret, just for now, okay?"

"Why?"

"You know how Mommy feels about animals in the house." Tristan reminded him. "We have to pick the perfect time to tell her, otherwise you might not get to keep Speedy."

"But you said I could!"

"No, I said 'we'll see.' That wasn't a yes."

"Please?" He pleaded, pouting a little. "Pretty please?"

"We'll see. Come on, let's go find Lori, it's almost time to go." Tristan said, before heading off to find the other half of the Terrible Twosome.

* * *

Yes, I know that we're not at the brunch yet. But I swear, that the next chapter, we will finally arrive at Chilton, and all will be revealed.

So, what did you think?

Tell me please!

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	4. I Know This Much Is True

**An Author's Pre Brunch Ramblings**- So, I bet that no one thought that this chapter would be up so fast! Honestly, I'm a bit surprised about it myself. This has a lot todo with a review I got from Riya, who made me feel a lot less frustrated with some of the rude reviews that I got. So, thanks go out to you, Riya! I probably would have put this story on the back burner again after I read some of the obnoxious reviews.

And I have a dedication for this chapter too, which is another reason for my updating now. This is a belated birthday present to my beta Sara. Happy 17th Birthday Sara!

**Thank You-** I need to thank both Sara, (Shouhei) for making me continue this story, and for taking out the plot points with me over and over again. And Amy (abc79de) for going over this chapter with a fine toothed comb, and making it better than I thought that it could be!

**For the Education of Deprived Children-** Babar is a French cartoon elephant, who was raised by the Old Woman before returning to be the King of the Elephants. He is married to Celeste, and named their town, Celesteville after her. His best friend is a monkey named Zephir, who owns an ice cream shop. This is one of my favorites, as well as being insanely popular in France, so it will probably show up a lot in this story.

**Disclaimer-** I don't own Gilmore Girls, Sacred Time, by Ursula Hegi, or Babar. If I did, I'd be swimming in my money vault, not writing this story and working at a kinda sucky retail job to pay my way through school.

And now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter Four- I Know This Much is True 

"They're late." Paris Gellar stated. "It's not surprising. Tristan always did have a unique grasp on time."

"Paris, it's only five after eleven." Louise reminded her. "Calm down."

"I wonder what she's like!" Madeline smiled a wondering look on her face. "She must be really pretty."

"Please. She's going to be tall, beautiful, blonde, and completely brain dead." Paris snapped, looking around the crowd that was milling about the lawn. It was the perfect spring morning, there was a light breeze, and the air smelled of the flowers that were beginning to bloom. The air was warm, and the sun shone brightly. Overall, it was the ideal May Saturday.

"Cynical much?" Louise raised an eyebrow in Paris' direction.

"She'd have to be stupid to actually marry Tristan Dugrey." Paris explained. "Plus, Rory obviously doesn't like her. You heard what she said last night. The wife is 'interesting.'"

"So?"

"So, Rory likes everyone. She's like Mother Theresa or something. So there obviously must be something wrong with the woman."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Maybe his wife knows about their affair, and she and Rory got into a huge fight over Tristan!" Madeline guessed. "Then, Rory fled back home, to escape."

"Why are you still pushing this whole affair thing?" Paris asked, looking at her two companions. "You know Rory. She wouldn't do something like that."

"Au contraire, mon amie." Louise contradicted. "If I remember correctly, Miss Gilmore was deflowered by her very hot and very married ex-boyfriend."

"That was one time, Louise. It doesn't mean that she's out to steal every husband on the East Coast."

"No, she only goes after the hot ones." Madeline grinned. "Whatever the woman is like, she must be something. I mean, she got the Hartford bad boy to settle down."

"She's not just something, Madeline. Women like her are what legends are made of." Louise stated. "She got Tristan Dugrey to marry her."

"Maybe they had to get married." Madeline thought out loud. "Like an arranged marriage thing."

"But last night Rory told us that they eloped." Paris remembered. "If you are being forced into marrying someone, usually you drag your feet, not race to the alter."

"What if she was in a 'delicate condition'?" Louise suggested. "That would explain why our King settled down."

"And why he's still married." Madeline's eyes gleamed with excitement. Gossiping was one of her favorite pastimes. Both she and Louise prided themselves on knowing all the dirt and getting the scoop before anyone else. "If there were children involved, it would be harder for him to leave."

"Any woman who would let him impregnate her is severely lacking in brain matter." Paris snapped, craning her neck to see around a woman in a large blue hat that had situated herself in front of them, her wide blue-covered frame blocking their view. "Hey, Mrs. Peacock, do you think you could take it into the billiard room? Maybe you could find Professor Plum and take out Miss Scarlet with the wrench!"

The woman turned her head, giving her a look before she and her male companion moved to another patch of lawn.

"Paris, you really have to try harder to be nice to people." Madeline commented brightly. "It makes life easier when your peers don't hate you."

"I don't care if someone who could pose for a Milton Bradley board game hates me. I don't even know that woman. I have never seen her before in my life."

"That's Mrs. Waltham, Paris." Louise winced once she realized who the woman was. "She just pledged an undisclosed seven figure sum to build the new Cardiac wing in Hartford Memorial."

"Damn it!" Paris swore loudly, attracting some stares from her former classmates. "What is she doing here? She didn't graduate with us."

"No, but her nephew did, and she is on the School Board." Madeline added.

"Who's her nephew?" Paris asked, narrowing her eyes. That woman was going to donate that money to her unit. She couldn't let such a sizable amount slip through her fingers, especially not to the Pediatric wing that was also seeking funds to update their own area of the hospital.

"Your very favorite person." Louise smirked at the irony of the situation. "Brad Langford."

"Brad Langford? Are you kidding me?" Paris nearly screeched, before regaining control. How in the world had she become so unlucky? _I'm screwed._

"You, my dear, are screwed." Louise said, before she and Madeline broke out into laughter.

**&**

"We're here!" Tristan announced brightly. He turned toward his family when his statement was met with silence. Lori and TJ were engrossed in a Babar cartoon that was playing on the portable DVD player, completely tuned out to anything that wasn't huge, grey and French.

Rory was a different story. She was sitting next to him, staring intently at the copy of **Sacred Time** that lay in her lap. To the untrained eye, one might assume that she was as involved in her book as the twins were in the animated pachyderm, but Tristan knew better.

She'd opened the book the moment that she had gotten in the car, but had yet to turn a single page. The sullen, thoughtful expression on her face was worrying Tristan. He had expected her to be apprehensive about revealing their prank to their former classmates.

Somewhere between storming out of Lori's room and leaving for Hartford, something had shifted. Rory had been so angry at him for trying to convince her to make peace with Christopher, but now, she just seemed tired and sad.

Tristan hit the power button, disconnecting Lori and TJ from Celesteville. Lori gasped, narrowing her eyes at her father.

"Daddy! That was the best part!" She exclaimed, throwing Tristan a dirty look.

"Yeah! Zephir was in it!" TJ chimed in, equally upset.

"Sorry." Tristan apologized, getting out of the car, leaving his children in their futile attempts to wiggle their way out of their car seats. He moved quickly to Rory's side, opening her door for her to step out.

"Rory." He waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention, which was still on her book, though her mind was far away from the pages in her lap. "Rory!"

Her head snapped up, her blue eyes meeting his. "What?" She asked him, looking around. "We're here already?" Rory was surprised they got to Chilton so quickly. It seemed like only moments ago, she had strapped TJ into his car seat. "That was fast."

"Sure, if you discount the extra half hour that we spent stuck in traffic." Tristan said sarcastically, holding out his hand to help her from the car. "It was the most boring car ride ever. Even worse than that time that we were stuck on the Autobahn for six hours after that pile up, I'd venture to say."

"Sorry." She said accepting his hand, letting him pull her from the vehicle. "I guess that I wasn't very good company today." Rory gave Tristan a small smile.

"So you're talking to me again?" Tristan smirked slightly, brushing her dark locks behind her ear, his hand lingering a bit to caress her cheek. "I thought that you'd be mad at me for the rest of the day, at least."

"I was never mad at you."

"My eardrums would beg to differ, Darling." Tristan admonished playfully, hoping to raise her spirits a little. "You achieved optimum volume when you were yelling at me."

"Sorry." She shrugged, not playing along like she normally would.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, lifting her chin when she tried to look away. "What happened?"

Rory bit her lip, leaning heavily against the car. She had been fine, really she had. She picked an outfit, did her makeup, and even curled the ends of her long hair. Everything had been going well. Lane was coming to visit, and her mother had called again, informing her of the next sneak attack in the war with the Coffee Nazis.

Everything had been going so well. It had been for months, ever since they had moved to Stars Hollow. The new house had been built to her specifications before they even set foot on American soil, so it was nice and cozy, just the way that she liked things, despite the grand scale that Tristan had refused to budge on. Lori and TJ had been relatively well behaved for a while now, with only a few minor scrapes for Taylor to complain about during the town meetings.

But by far, the best part was the fact that she was finally within walking distance of her mother. Even though Rory knew that being in Europe for the last few years was definitely meant to be, and she couldn't imagine what her life would have been like now if she hadn't gone, it was still difficult to be that far away from Lorelai. More than once she had thought about packing up and going home. Now that she was back, they were back. Movie nights had become a Friday night ritual once more, mixing sharp, witty comments, heaps of teeth-rotting junk food, and the tried and true favorite flicks that had been watched over and over again, never getting old.

Then, only a few hours ago, her father had ruined all of that. Every time that he came back into her life, chaos followed. Christopher just didn't know when to quit. No matter how much time passed, he kept trying to be the father that he never was. The father he never would be.

The father he never could be.

And the worst part was that no matter what he did, and no matter how much havoc he wreaked upon her life, deep down a piece of her still desperately wanted him to be that father.

And that small part of her grew when she had stumbled upon Tristan with Lori. On her way downstairs, she heard their laughter in the playroom, and went to investigate. Peeking into the room, Rory saw her sitting in his lap, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder, as he read her a book. Lori giggled loudly as Tristan made up funny voices to match the characters' outrageous personalities.

The scene before her was touching, and warmed her heart, as it would any mothers. But that tiny bit of her that wanted her father couldn't help but be a teensy bit jealous of her own daughter, for having something that Rory knew that she would never have.

Christopher wasn't capable of being the man that Tristan was. She would never know what it felt like to have a father who would tuck her into bed at night, read her a story, and kiss her goodnight.

No matter how much Rory knew that in her mind, her heart still held out hope. And every time that Christopher chose make another attempt at reconciliation that hope would grow, until she really believed that this time would turn out differently.

Only to be proven wrong yet again, like she always was.

Rory wasn't going to go through that again. She wasn't going to put her heart out on the line again for her father. Her life was full of stable people who loved her. She had her mother, her husband, two and a half children, along with a stepfather, two brothers, a gaggle of friends, and a whole town of people who thought of her as their own daughter. There was no room in her life for a father who was never anything but a disappointment, no matter how much he loved her. She was the one who ended up hurting in the end.

"What's wrong?" Tristan asked again, not letting her off the hook. He had her pinned against the side of the car, an arm on either side of her. Rory sighed heavily, letting her head fall forward onto his chest.

"You're a really good father." She mumbled into his linen jacket, burrowing deeper into him as his arms slid around her, his fingers making soothing circles into her lower back.

"Thanks." Tristan accepted the compliment, wondering where it had come from. Surely that wasn't what she had been thinking about for the past hour. It had to be something bigger than that.

"Lori and TJ are really lucky to have you." Rory whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. "Any child would be lucky to have a guy like you for a father." She was on the verge of tears now, but desperately trying to keep from crying.

"Rory?" Tristan asked when he felt her start to shake. He tried to pull away slightly, but she pulled him tighter as she began losing the battle within herself, tears spilling from her eyes and soaking into the lapel of his jacket.

"I don't know why I'm crying." Rory said, frustrated with herself for giving in, letting the long buried emotions get the better of her. _Damn hormones,_ she thought. "I gave up on him a long time ago. I shouldn't be crying."

"You mean your dad?" Tristan wiped a wayward tear from her cheek with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Ror. I should have just told him no, and not even told you."

"And then, when he didn't listen and came anyway, I would have been mad at you for not telling me." Rory pointed out, composing herself again. This was neither the time nor the place to do this. "It's not your fault that he's the way he is."

"It's not your fault either, you know." Tristan said, brushing his lips against her forehead. "He's the one who missed out. It takes a true buffoon not to see what an amazing woman you are."

"You didn't see it at first."

"Ah, but I was sixteen, and I quickly saw the error in my ways." He reminded her, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "There's a lot that I don't know, but I know this much is true. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Ror, and anyone who doesn't get that can take a flying leap off the Empire State Building, for all I care."

"Very sappy, Tristan." The corners of her mouth curved up slightly.

"Yes, it was, but it worked." Tristan laughed as she reluctantly smiled. "See? You can't resist me when I'm whispering sweet nothings into your ear."

"Yeah, you and your 'sweet nothings' are exactly what has gotten me into this predicament." Rory sighed when he ran his hands over her sides, warming her from the inside out. How did he manage to turn her on so quickly? "It's entirely your fault that I'm fat now."

"It's all my fault?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Because I seem to remember you saying something along the lines of 'harder, Tristan, harder. Fu-,'" He was silenced as his mortified wife clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Ew!" Rory pulled her hand away from his lips when she felt his tongue against her fingers. "Gross! You licked me!"

"Please, my tongue has been in places a lot less innocent than your hand, Babe." Tristan smirked, watching her eyes bulge at his words. Even after all these years, he still enjoyed teasing her. Some things never changed.

"I can't believe that you just said that." Rory said, shocked. "You are going to scar your children."

"Like they can even hear me." Tristan said, sliding his hands under the knee length periwinkle blue coat she was wearing, caressing her curves over the material of her black dress. "They're in the car, trying in vain to squirm their way out of their car seats."

If only he knew how wrong he was.

True enough, Lori and TJ were in the car, attempting to free themselves from their Playskool confines, but it wasn't in vain. After nearly twenty minutes of writhing and wiggling, Lori's small hand caught the catch on the side, allowing her to slide out of her seat and move over to let her brother out.

Neither Rory nor Tristan were paying much attention to anything other than each other, and didn't notice that their children were free until it was too late. The twins raced past them before either parent could react.

Tristan and Rory both hurried after them, praying that they caught up with them before the Terrible Twosome decided to divide and conquer.

Luck was on their side. Sort of.

Just as the twins reached the edge of the parking lot, TJ tripped on his untied shoelace, falling heavily to his knees. The second that his little legs came in contact with the gravel, the boy let out a wail of pain.

Lori didn't even look back when her brother went down. Ever the independent one, she kept going on her own, disappearing into the crowd that was congregated on the lawn in front of the main building.

"Go after her!" Rory called to Tristan, who was ahead of her. He nodded, and took off in hot pursuit of Lori, while Rory knelt down next to TJ, who was still whimpering as she checked him over, to make sure there was no permanent damage.

&

"Oh my God!" Louise and Paris stopped speaking when Madeline rushed up to them, out of breath from running back to the pair. She had just gone to get a drink with her fiancé Harper Selton, and had run into Gloria Kent, who filled her in on the major scandal that was about to break. "You… are never… going to believe… what… I just… I just… heard."

"What? What?" Louise asked, sensing she was about to get a scoop. "Come on, tell us!"

"Louise, she can barely breathe, let alone talk." Paris said, turning to Madeline, who was now bent at an odd angle, leaning on the table the two women had been sitting at when she ran back. "Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out." She instructed her friend, whose color slowly returned to normal after following the good doctor's advice.

"So, Harper and I were over at the refreshment table, and Gloria was there with her husband. Let me tell you, his hair plugs definitely aren't taking. Whoever maimed his head should be shot-,"

"That's what you wanted to tell us!" Paris exclaimed, attracting the attention of the people at the next table. "What?" She snapped at them, turning away when they went back to their own conversations.

"No. Apparently, the former King of Chilton was seen canoodling with our very own Valedictorian in the parking lot!" Madeline squealed, nearly exploding with excitement.

"No way!" Louise was surprised. Not that they were obviously sleeping together, but that they were stupid enough to get caught in public. "The parking lot!"

"There has to be some other explanation." Paris couldn't swallow the gossip that her friend was trying to feed her. "I still say that Rory would never do that!"

"Well, believe it. What other explanation is there?"

"I don't know, but there's got to be something." Paris grumbled crossly. She had really thought that Rory was better than that. What kind of a person would sneak around, sleeping with a married man? What was wrong with her? Didn't she learn her lesson with Dean?

"Hey!" Paris stumbled forward, grabbing onto the edge of the table to keep her balance. She turned sharply to see what had run into her, and found herself staring at a young girl who couldn't have been older than five. Her dark brown curls were secured by a purple ribbon, keeping her hair away from her startling blue eyes.

Paris had never seen the child before, she knew that much.

However, she was familiar. Very familiar. It was the eyes. Paris was sure that she had seen those eyes before. Where she had seen them, she had no idea. Perhaps she was the daughter of a former classmate, or maybe the spokesperson for a child's toy, or diapers or something.

"Lorelai Amelia!" The little girl's eyes went round, and she turned around slowly when she heard her father's voice.

Paris, Madeline, and Louise looked up, shocked to see Tristan Dugrey walking over to them. Or rather, to the little girl standing before them. "What have I told you about running off?"

"To take TJ with me?" Lori answered meekly, pouting a little as Tristan picked her up.

"Try again." Tristan stared her down, trying not to cave.

"Not to?" Lori said, pouting a little more, giving her father her very best puppy dog eyes.

"Exactly." Tristan could feel his resolve begin to waver, and attempted to remain as stern as he possibly could. But his daughter knew how to push his buttons, making it impossible for him to remember why she was being reprimanded in the first place. This time was no different. Lori peppered kisses onto his cheeks, hugging him tightly around his neck. "You can't just take off. You have to wait for someone to take you." He kept his cool until she pulled out the big guns: Butterfly kisses. "Promise?"

"I promise." Lori smiled, kissing his nose. "Am I your best girl again?"

"Of course. Just don't tell Mommy." Tristan grinned back at her. "Or else I'll be in trouble."

"And then it's Sofa City, Sweetheart." Lori giggled, repeating the line from the movie she had watched with her grandmother the night before.

"I thought that we decided that you were too young for 'Sixteen Candles.'"

"Grandma said that it was okay." Lori told him. "As long as we kept it a secret."

"She did, did she?" Tristan rolled his eyes. For the past three months, Lorelai had been 'grandparenting' his children, and it was getting a little old. He could deal with the coffee and the excessive junk food, but letting his four-year-old daughter watch 'Sixteen Candles' was too much.

Tristan looked past his daughter to see three women standing a few feet away, their mouths agape, as if in some sort of shock. It was almost funny, the way they were staring. It might be the first time they had all been rendered speechless simultaneously.

Paris was the first one to speak, some of the pieces of the puzzle coming together in her head. How she hadn't seen it before, she had no idea.

"Lorelai?"

* * *

And there you have it. They are at the brunch, the moment that you were all waiting for. However, I couldn't give it all away, where would the fun be in that?

Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it!

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